To ask what the plan is for covid this winter?

[TreeHouse8]

Winter will soon be upon us and for many, the worry is understandably how they'll heat their homes. However, covid has not gone away with hundreds dying every week and many more getting long covid.

Not that you would know it from the media, who have moved onto their best story. Am I the only one concerned that there has been no mention of what protections will be in place to protect the nhs when we inevitably have a winter covid wave? Is the message still "let the bodies like high"?

Surely the government should be setting out a plan now for common sense, light touch protections that will help the NHS get through winter? I.e. boosters offered to all, a return to testing and isolating if positive, work from home, high-quality masks indoors, social distancing in hospitality, ventilation in public spaces.

They should also list further protections that may need to be imposed depending on numbers and criteria for these, such as limits on large events, the rule of 6, ban on indoor mixing, blended learning up to full lockdown if unfortunately necessary.

Are the vulnerable and the NHS just going to be fed to the wolves this winter?

Got to be or old nutnuts.

I will be following precisely no rules over covid. Never tested my kids unless they've been visiting nan in the nursing home. Won't be testing me, DH or the kids now. Boosters given to vulnerable. I'll wear a mask again on a cold day in hell. Not a chance.

Sorry not sorry. 🤷‍♀️

I’d forgotten all about the “rule of six.” And when you had to sit outside at the pub. As if anybody’s going to go back to all that.

I'm sick of people who are able to WFH .
Going on about wanting to bring back testing and isolating again.
If I don't work I don't get paid.
Then we can't pay our bills or eat.
I won't be following any bullshit rules if they are brought in .

I actually don't think its that outlandish that those who were deeeeeep into covid terror and enforcing restrictions and lockdowns will have had trouble letting go.

Sweden has managed just fine long term with no masks and no social distancing just a few common sense rules which were lifted months ago, also their economy isn't anywhere near as damaged; the severity of lockdown bears little to no relationship to the number of deaths in a community, see several states in America Scottish and Welsh rules were a bit stricter than Englands but despite the huge difference in population density the long term results are pretty similar; slightly better on some stats slightly worse on others,

whether you die from covid or a heart attack you are equally dead, just having a positive test of covid on death doesn't mean that covid was responsible it is thought that only 5% of covid deaths were due to covid and nothing else at all

back in summer 2020 they knew that outside was virtually no risk but they kept restrictions while partying in No 10 if they had truly believed that meeting outside was a risk of death they would not have done it, they knew it was a tiny risk outside they just refused to share with us

as for SAGE their modelling was an overestimation of problem on every single occasion often hugely wrong; so wrong that a random guess would have been as good. also other harms have to be balanced mental health having a job enough money to pay for living, an education socia contacts

the UN declaration of human rights says we has a right to freedom of association and family life this was denied for long periods

no one will listen to new rules, there is more to life than not being dead people celebrated all through the black death in Europe which makes covid look like nothing, It is sad some people died of covid but no sadder than people dying of undiagnosed cancer untreated strokes people self harming because they are so lonely caring for others is far greater than just stopping them getting an infectious disease we need to care for people body mind and soul

Boosters for the over-50s and other vulnerable people are now underway.

Some scientists (from AZ) are saying that they think the existing vaccines people have had are effective for longer than previously thought.

I know a lot of people who have had covid lately, and mainly they have caught it on holiday in places as far apart as Norway, Majorca and Croatia. Possibly on planes/ trains .

I do know several elderly and more vulnerable younger people who are still taking a lot of care and not socialising as normal, until they have had another booster jab.

Just you worrying about it OP. I couldn't care less about Covid.

I couldn’t give a flying fuck about SAGES’ opinion, in the same way that they don’t give a flying fuck about mental health, normal human interaction, the economy, people’s livelihoods and jobs, child development and education. You know, the stuff that’s ALSO important.

There can be as many government rules and “light touch” ( ) measures that you clearly would love to see, OP, but I - along with most other people - will ignore them. Tell you what, why don’t you lock yourself down, then you can be happy and the rest of us can get on with our lives.

The devil in me wants them to actually try this now, just to enjoy laughing at the response.

Hundreds are dying every week (likely to be thousands in the winter}

This has always been the case. People die. More people die in the winter. Covid is just one of many things that will kill them.

I didn't follow the rules last time, so I'm not likely to do so if the government is stupid enough to try to introduce them again.

YABU, btw.

Independent sage are not experts and we're full of bs. One of their members stated schools should remain closed until there are zero cases of covid, what an absolute muppet. I won't be complying with any new covid measures. You can do one op.

No. How do you social distance in schools? How do I work if I have to supervise a 9yo at home?

Well said

Haven't spotted a 'selfish' yet.

To be fair to SAGE, they modelled what they were told to model and they weren't the ones making the political and value judgements about what should be considered. That was the politicians instructing them. Indy SAGE on the other hand have no such excuse. The shit they came out with is all on them.

Now you’ve really gone too fucking far

Well said. Correct.

I wouldn’t be opposed to mask wearing or WFH but I appreciate that many people would be. Fair enough.

I would absolutely not be in favour of social distancing, rule of six, outdoor socialising etc. I wouldn’t comply.

Hopefully over the last 2.5 years people will have got into the habit of hand-washing, and will WFH (when feasible) and avoid crowds if unwell with something contagious. But more formal restrictions? No thanks.

To be fair to SAGE, they modelled what they were told to model and they weren't the ones making the political and value judgements about what should be considered. That was the politicians instructing them.

I don’t disagree with you in that they were doing what they were asked to do, but it was unforgivable for some of the scientists involved to be giving media interviews on the subject of what they thought should be done knowing they would be widely reported, calling for tougher measures on social media, stoking fears and generally acting as if their viewpoint was the only valid one. Those doing this had no right to ride roughshod over every single other consideration and I truly hope they come in time to realise the harm to which they contributed.

@TreeHouse8 what would blended learning look like? Do you mean on site on school and some at home? There hasn’t been any press on this so I cannot see it

@TreeHouse8 a mix of hyperbolic statements (throwing around millions/thousands/hundreds) and underplaying the effects of your so call light touch measures and a lack of acknowledgement of the huge negative effects masks/social distancing and home learning have had on children means that your views just cannot and should not be taken seriously.

And totally detracts from the fact that actually Covid hasnt gone away and will be one factor in a potentially incredibly rough winter and that how the vaccination programme for Covid and Flu should be run out, plans for dealing with an increase of infections etc should be at the forefront of the Governments Plans alongside the energy crisis. Because that is true and realistic.

What you are saying is not - I dont think you are a new poster either

I don't think there will be any restrictions although there might be updated 'advice' that pretty much everyone would ignore.

There are boosters for some groups of people, but not for everyone.

I'd be quite happy if people were asked to work from home if they can, but that's more because I don't really want to commute on the coldest days

I'm utterly convinced this is a wind-up. At least I hope it is.

No one is going back to full lockdown in the U.K. and my children's education has suffered enough already, thank you.